UK shops ‘buying stolen goods from professional shoplifters’ | Retail

According to retail organisations, shops in the UK are buying stolen goods from professional shoplifters who steal to order for criminal gangs to fund their addiction problems.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said its members reported “numerous” and “very blatant and direct” incidents of shoplifting, with meat, cheese and alcohol products typically targeted.

Businesses are reporting seeing their items for sale locally or in Facebook or WhatsApp groups after they have been stolen.

James Lowman, the director of ACS, said he knew of other businesses, mostly smaller shops, also buying stolen goods.

Lowman said thieves were stealing to order and suspected buyers may have turned a blind eye because they weren’t sure the goods had actually been stolen.

He added: “What we’re seeing is a higher volume of theft by the same people who are professional shoplifters, often to feed addiction problems. And how do they do that? Well, they resell the products. And so we think there’s probably a stronger market for those resold products.

“And that’s something we’ve observed and talked about over the last few years.”

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), said he was aware of criminal gangs becoming involved in organising shoplifters to increase their ability to steal and destroy goods.

He also said that over the past year he has heard of more cases of other stores buying up the goods after they were stolen.

Martin Gaunt, owner of the Happy Piranha gift shop in Truro, Cornwall, says he followed a thief and saw goods stolen from his shop being sold to another trader.

Goodacre said: “I think in the past it was often, and still is, things like meat and cheese. But now our membership base is made up of pet shops, clothes shops, hardware stores, cooking shops, gift shops, independent department stores, clothing shops.

“And I think 80% of them are now reporting that things are being stolen that they wouldn’t have stolen two or three years ago. People are stealing pet food, pet accessories, cleaning products, kitchenware, kettles, all sorts of things, depending on what’s been ordered. But also because putting a cheap kettle on Facebook Marketplace is likely to lead to a sale very quickly.”

According to the ACS, its members reported 5.6 million incidents of shoplifting last year, with half of those shoplifters being repeat offenders.

According to the ACS, convenience stores spent £339m last year on crime prevention measures such as CCTV, alarms and tagging.

A former shoplifter told the BBC he stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and regularly sold them on to other shops.

Ross, 39, who has been convicted of shoplifting 15 times but has never served time in prison, estimates he stole £300 worth of goods every day, which he then sold to support his crack cocaine and heroin addiction.

He told the announcer that he also stole to order for a middleman, who would then resell the goods. He said that perfume, cosmetics, alcohol and food were among the items he would regularly steal and resell “as the cheapest wholesale.”

Lowman said hearing this would be “painful” for business owners.

A spokesman for the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said stolen goods were ending up in “unscrupulous” restaurants, market stalls and online marketplaces.

According to the spokesperson, there has been an increase in gang-related crime in the retail sector in recent years, with thieves showing up at multiple stores of the same company in one day.

He added: “It’s difficult for retailers because they do report these crimes and there are processes they go through, but the police response is so low at the moment that unfortunately these crimes are not being treated seriously enough.

“These gangs realize they can get away with it.”

Stephanie Karte from Retailers Against Crime said: “You have the local offender who, unfortunately, nine times out of ten is addicted to alcohol or drugs. And they end up stealing to support their addiction.

“Basically they get money for the stuff they steal and where does that money go? It goes to the drug dealer.

“So when you think about it and all those little things, it actually all funds a much more serious crime.”